New Dewalt Cordless String Trimmer

[walker450]

I am thinking about buying one of these (we call all string trimmers "weed-eaters" around here):

This would compliment my Stihl FS 130. It is great but a little cumbersome for quickly trimming around the house. Lowes is having a special right now where if you buy the trimmer for $299 (comes with a battery and charger), you get a mail-in-rebate for a free extra battery.

Shop Cordless Electric String Trimmers at Lowes.com

Amazon.com: DEWALT DCST990H1 Max XR String Trimmer, 40-volt: Patio, Lawn & Garden

DCST990H1 40V MAX* Lithium Ion XR Brushless 15

 

[Bird]

I've no experience with them, but if my 10 year old Stihl FS 55 ever dies I intend to buy a battery powered trimmer and that one sounds like what I'd want. Of course, my old Stihl may outlive me.

And yep, I reckon Weedeater was the brand of the first ones and I've had corded electric Weedeaters many years ago. Sometimes a brand name goes generic? Like Kleenex for facial tissue, Weedeater for string trimmers, and some others. To my Mother, all motorhomes were Winnebagos.:laughing:

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Being in the lawn care business, I'm interested in these also. Here is a link to a thread in my lawn care forum with a recent and ongoing review of this equipment. New tools

For a little background, the guy who started the thread (Marcsmith) is the groundskeeper at Georgetown University in Washington DC, so he has lots of experience with this type of equipment.

 

[DFB]

Looks like a cordless trimmer is something I eventually want to have too. And maybe a chainsaw unit.

We have several 40V pieces of tree trimming equipment at the orchard where I work...Oregon brand. There are quite a few manufactures of cordless outdoor equipment on the market now. Will be good to know which units will be worthy and what the best features are, line size etc,

 

[Bird]

I stopped by Lowe's today to look around. Of course they had a display with the DeWalt 40v string trimmer, hedge shears, and leaf blower; all of which use the same 40v battery and each of which costs the same; $299.

Then right close to that display was another one of the same 3 items, but Kobalt brand with each one priced at $149.

Can someone explain why the DeWalt is worth twice as much as the Kobalt?

Incidentally, they also had an 80v model string trimmer by kobalt. I didn't know any of the manufacturers had gone that high in voltage.

 

[bcp]

Sometimes a brand name goes generic? Like Kleenex for facial tissue, Weedeater for string trimmers, and some others.

Unless it is a lown mower Weebeater.



Bruce

 

[grnspot110]

Be sure to look at what other tools use the same battery! I bought a "Core" CGT400 trimmer a couple years ago. Two batteries will last an hour or more.

This year, I bought an Oregon 40V, 14" chainsaw w/2, 4ah batteries to use thinning out up to 4" trees in the timber. The two batteries will last a couple hours of intermittent cutting. If I'd known when I bought the Core trimmer that I'd want any other battery powered outdoor tools, i'd have gone with the Oregon in the first place, saving on having as many batteries!

Look at ah (amp hour), besides just voltage!

Also, check around for prices, I found a wide range on the Oregon saw!

 

[walker450]

I've no experience with them, but if my 10 year old Stihl FS 55:

I own a FS 55... a few weeks after buying my FS 130, my brother borrowed my 55. That was in 2008, and he is still borrowing it!! :laughing:

CompleteLawnCare: Thanks for the link! I will be following that thread.

Bird: I have no idea why the huge price difference. I suspect a lot of it is just for the Dewalt name.

 

[newbury]

Partial thread Hijack -
The featured one is a 40V Max.

Does anyone have one of their 20Vmax? the DCST920P1 <p> 20V MAX* Lithium Ion XR Brushless 13" String Trimmer (5.0 Ah)</p> | DEWALT Tools?

I've an investment in the 20V max tools and batteries already.

 

[BigBlue]

Keeping an eye on this one. I need a new trimmer and I'm tired of what this gas and alcohol mix does to small 2 stroke engines. Battery may be the way to go.

 

[Gunny]

I've got two of the Ryobi 18+ trimmers, bought one and was given one, but what they heck.

I initially thought that it would be good for just trimming around the deck and flower beds in the back yard, but since I've been using it, the gas trimmer stays down at the farm. I don't know how many hours it will run on one battery because I'm known to take a lot of liquid refreshment breaks, but I can trim the whole yard, front and back and the little status LED still stays in middle range.

Now these are light duty units, the mono line is a real small diameter, so it won't cut much besides grass, but I was highly impressed with the performance, especially when I rated it against one of the older Black and Decker cordless trimmers.

 

[DFB]

So here is one of the 2 current companion tools...Dewalt 40v Blower with a new 6 amp battery. The other is cordless hedge trimmer.

Pretty big...pretty expensive too...most have it at $369

There is another version with a 4.0 battery for $299


I have a much smaller Milwaukee 0884-20 3 speed 18v blower similar to the Makita DUB182Z

There's no comparison with any 18v unit though for heavy outdoor usage.

Use mine for quick job site cleanups especially nice around the walls and for baseboards, the table saw, chop saw and home in my garage. Dry equipment off after washing too. My buddy used a gas powered one at the motorcycle shop to dry off bikes...I find this handier


TIA has some new video out on the Dewalt 40V tools.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6PrUbdjLps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBTZpQmJX0Q

 

[RalphVa]

We've had B&D (who own Dewalt) 18v trimmer and chain saws for quite a while. They work well. The chain saws don't last long but love the "alligator" one. Have a 40v Kobalt chain saw that I've never run the battery down on yet. You can also get a Kobalt 40v trimmer. That's what I'd get if I got a new one.

Ralph

 

[BigBlue]

I am thinking about buying one of these (we call all string trimmers "weed-eaters" around here):

This would compliment my Stihl FS 130. It is great but a little cumbersome for quickly trimming around the house. Lowes is having a special right now where if you buy the trimmer for $299 (comes with a battery and charger), you get a mail-in-rebate for a free extra battery.

Shop Cordless Electric String Trimmers at Lowes.com

Amazon.com: DEWALT DCST990H1 Max XR String Trimmer, 40-volt: Patio, Lawn & Garden

DCST990H1 40V MAX* Lithium Ion XR Brushless 15

One difference I noticed is the battery. The DeWalt has a 6ah battery while the Kobalt is a 2ah battery.

 

[txdon]

I have the E-GO blower and lawn mower and am pleased with them. The batteries are interchangeable. The mower is light, cuts good and last for 30 minutes with a 15 minute full recharge (perfect break time). Now I see they have come out with the trimmer. 56v. It is $120 less expensive than the Dewalt but no second battery give-away.
EGO 12 in. 56-Volt Lithium-ion Straight String Trimmer-ST1201 - The Home Depot

 

[walker450]

One difference I noticed is the battery. The DeWalt has a 6ah battery while the Kobalt is a 2ah battery.

The 6ah battery is optional. If you buy from Lowe's they have a 4ah battery. The mail-in rebate is for a spare 4ah battery.

I found the first negative review on the Lowe's web

DEWALT DCST990H1 Max XR String Trimmer, 40-volt
5 / 5
steve
Locationes Moines,Iowa,USATime of Purchase: within last monthPlace of Purchase: in storeLevel of Expertise: Expert
April 19, 2015
Features:
5 / 55 / 5
Value:
5 / 55 / 5
Design:
5 / 55 / 5
Quality:
1 / 51 / 5
Ease of use:
5 / 55 / 5
Recently purchased on 4/16/2015, worked Great. Tonite 4/19/2015, my wife heard strange noise from garage so I went to investigate found dewalt trimmer running, apparently switch mal-functioned. I had to pull battery to shut unit off. Serious issue.
Pros
High quality
I would recommend this to

Hopefully it is an isolated incident and doesn't turn into a major problem.

I went to Lowe's and looked at these in person a few days ago. The sales people on shift had zero info on the Dewalts and one even recommended a corded over these because "the battery only lasts 30 minutes". I didn't bother talking about it any further...

I was a little disappointed that the demo unit did not have a battery. I would of liked to hold it with a battery in it to feel the weight and balance. Another thing I noticed is that standing in a comfortable position the cutting head was about 5 inches off the ground (I'm 6'3" tall). I think most of this could be made up by adjusting the loop handle up, but I chose not to go to the tool department for an allen wrench and proceed to adjust the handle in the aisle.

 

[newbury]

<snip>
I went to Lowe's and looked at these in person a few days ago. The sales people on shift had zero info on the Dewalts and one even recommended a corded over these because "the battery only lasts 30 minutes". I didn't bother talking about it any further...
<snip>

Thus if you need to run a string trimmer for an hour you need two batteries.

I can understand these are not designed for a commercial use 8 hour/16 battery day. But if you have more tools that use the same battery the cordless gasless feature can be a winner.

In the 20V max I've bought a 5 piece set for one son, a drill for the daughter, and the sawzall, circular, and drill for my self.

The sawzall and the circular run about 30 minutes on a 2amp battery, the drill seems to last forever. In the last week I used the drill and circular to assemble my trailer "box" and the sawzall to cut bamboo. The convenience of carrying two or three batteries is far better than trying to string electrical cord 200 feet.

I just wish they had an adapter so I could use 2 of the 20V max batteries on the 40 volt trimmer.

 

[DFB]

I just wish they had an adapter so I could use 2 of the 20V max batteries on the 40 volt trimmer.

Now that is a good idea. I bet it would sell more trimmers with an option like that! :thumbsup:

 

[DFB]

Just got an orange box email on Echo 58V tools. Trimmer, blower, hedge trimmer, mower etc.

Echo Cordless - Featured Products - The Home Depot

The 16" chainsaw looks promising...I like the way the battery drops in. I have had two Echo pre-mix saws for years and years that have always done well by me.



Found a video of the whole lineup on you tube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UBY4O0x6uo

Mower should be self propelled :laughing:

 

[walker450]

Thus if you need to run a string trimmer for an hour you need two batteries.

I didn't word my post very well. The consensus I have gotten from the limited number of reviews I read indicate that the battery lasts very well, around an hour or so.

I didn't agree with what the clerk said and feel that they have not done any research on the product they are selling. Also, there wasn't any indication (nor did the sales staff know) that there was a free battery through Dewalt. I'm not blaming the sales staff directly, but our location in general has done a poor job rolling out this new product.